Teenage banking - what's current

If you're looking for the best teenage bank accounts you may want to take a look at these new offerings - Alliance & Leicester and HSBC have both recently opened bank accounts targeted at a younger consumer. Alliance & Leicester's Premier 21 pays an impressive 10% interest on balances up to £1,000 up to July next year. Balances of £1,001 or more attract just 0.1% interest. As well as a high in-credit interest rate, Premier 21 account-holders also receive a linked Plus Saver Account paying 4.8% AER, a debit card, an overdraft facility for over 18s only, and access to the account 24 hours a day via the internet, telephone and mobile phone.

For those in their early teens and younger children, HSBC has introduced the MyMoney range for 7-17 year-olds last month. It consists of a savings account - MySavings - for those aged between 7-11 years-old which pays 5.25%, and a linked current account - MyAccount - for those aged 11 and upwards.

If you don't fancy the Alliance & Leicester or HSBC teen accounts and you're still looking for the best teenage bank accounts, there's not a great deal of choice out there for current accounts , although there are plenty of kids' savings accounts to choose from. Lloyds TSB has an under-19s current account which pays 3.3% in-credit interest and Cumberland Building Society offers the 24/7 account paying 2.85%.

Other accounts have lower interest rates such as The Abbey which pays 1.5% on in-credit balances and gives account-holders a debit card and overdraft facility when they start working.

The Royal Bank of Scotland's R21 account pays 2.27% and has a £100 buffer before overdraft charges kick in. However, unlike Alliance & Leicester's Premier 21 it charges an eyewatering £38 for unpaid direct debits and standing orders although such high charges are unlikely to withstand the scrutiny of the Office of Fair Trading, which began investigating current account fees in April.